Lens cutter



March 15 1927.

A. E. MAYNARD LENS CUTTER Filed-July 22. 1922 "nul,

7 INVENTOR A. E.MAYNARD ATTORNEYS -Paiemea Mar. 15, 1927.V

Unirse STATES Partnr-orales ALBERT umarmen.; or sommaires. MAssACansnrrS; Assrencri @denselben oie-ricer GOMBANY., orsoUrHBRInGE;nnssacnussrrsA. vonnnraliiassocraf TIQN F MASSAGHUSETTS,

Application le.A July 22 1922, Serial No.

I .point substantially normal to said var-ions surfaces whereby the best cutting action is effected. l p

A'urther object of the present invention is the provision of a self-contained machine of' this character which can be so adjusted as tov cut, a large variety both of sizes and shapes of lenses Without the necessity of changing guiding shapes,l for-mersor the like. Y Y

Another object of the invention is the provision of acutter which shall have vnovel andiniproved means for clamping the lens jin position on thecutting table and Which shall b e capable of being swung entirely out of the way to facilitate proper positioning of the lens onV the table. l

' A further object oi' the invention is the provision in connection with a machine having a plurality of iormers, of novel and improved mechanism for selectively presenting any desired former for engagement With the cutter cont-rollingshoe. Y

Another object of theinvention is the provision of novel and improved former en-v gaginginechanismvvhicli shall insure absolute reproduction of the shape of former employed in place of mere approximation thereto, asV has been the case with prior types of construction, 'and which shall at the samey time insure proper tracking of the diamond when following either Velliptical Aor odd l shapes.`

' Other objects and advantages of the pres# ent invention should be Vreadily apparent by reference to the following specification taken in connection With the-accompanying drawings, and. it Will be understood 'that I may make any modifications in the specific details of construction shovn'and desrbed within the scope of the appended Claims 5%, 8461V andl in Great Britain .T11-1y 6,' 1922.

Vwithout departing fromVv ory exceedingithe spirit ofthe invention.

K Figurel representsaperspectiveview of a machine embodying my improvements p Figure Il represents'a vertical. sectional view thereof4 withl cutter head' in inclined position. l

' Figure Hl lrepresents a -"hori'z,ontal sec` tionalview taken as onvthe line Hlelll of Figure H. illustrating the construction of the former engaging shoe.

Figure lVwrepresents afragmentary sectional view of the slide-adjusting mechanism and indicator. j y, Y

Figure V is a top plan view of 'the modified form of former engaging member.

'In the drawings,A in vwhich similar characters of reference are vemployed. to denote' corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 designates the base frame or casting having slidablymounted thereon the lens carriage 3, having a portion overlying the` base as at l toI provide 'a bearing forthe rotary lens supporting table 5,

and having arsecond portion 6 extendingl inward through the slot 7' in the'base, providingya `lower or thrust bearing on. which the spindle 8 of the lens table rests. A lever 9 intermedially pivoted as at 10Y to the base and .engaging the bottom of the member 6 serves 'to raise and Alower the carriage tovbring the lens into engagement With the cutting point.y `To retain the lens 11 in position upon the tableV 5,v I preferablyv make use of the clamp 12 swivelled as at Y.1 3

to the lens clamp varm 14. This yclamp arm` l f is carried by a sleeve 115, which telescopes with a second sleeve 16 inserted in the outer por-tion of the carriageybeing'guided in its slidingrmovement by the plunger lf, and having the upstanding threaded rod y184 passing centrally through the sleeves 15 ,and 16,l

asV Well as throughthe arm 141,.' A nut 19 engagedl on the upper-'end of this rod serves as tightened to draw the arm 14' downward on the rod, thus shortening the normal height fof the Iarm from the table, While to normally press the clamp pad llinto operative `engagementy With the lens 11 on' the table 5a springQO-is contained Within the sleeve, 16' lg'nearing at4 its lower end against 'the plunger'l? and at` its upper'end against loo the abutment 21 on the s-leeve 16. To facilitate lifting of the arm 14 and clamp pad against the pressure of the spring. I preferably rotatably mount in the base the rock shaft 22 actuated asby the handle 23 and bearing the'heart or other shaped cam 24 on which the plunger 17 normally rests. It will be understood that rotation ofthe rock shaft and thus of thecam will force the plunger 17 upward lifting the rod 18.

It is to be noted that the nut 19 has a depending collar portion 25 provided with a set screw 26 riding inthe groove 27 .of the arm 14 so that as the rod is raised it will lift with it the arm 14, this groove permitting of rotation of the nut to adjust the vertical position of the arm, as has been previously described. When the cam has reached its upper limit of movement it will be seen that the projecting pin or lug 28 will then iit within' the cut-away or recessed portion 29 of the plunger, further movement bringing it against the shoulder 30, whileas the movement is continued the contact of the lug 28 with the shoulder 30 will cause the plunger and associated parts to partially rotate, thus 'swinging the clamp arm backward toward the reary of thel machine and leaving the lens and lens table entirely clear, while reverse movement of the handle 23 will turn the clamp to position above the lens, and then allow it to be brought down by the spring action to securely clamp the lens in place.

As has been previouslymentioned, the lensy Y the lever 9 to raise the entire device and any bindingen account of excess of weight on the right-*hand over the left handv side of Vthe carriage will be eliminated.'A

Referring now to the cutter head mechamsm, there is slidably mounted, as on the guide 33 at the back of the basev 1, the upright slide block 34 to which is pivoted, as at 35 (Fig. Il) the tilting head 36, this lpivotal movement being controlled by intera position as in Figure I, or tilted to one side or another, as indicated for example by Figure II. l The transverse movement of the slide 34 is controlled by the adjusting screw 39 operable as by the head 40, which is itself held against longitudinal movement, its rotarespond.

tion tending to draw the slide `34lback and forth inthe usual manner of structures of this type. To indicate, however, the amount. of movement imparted to the slide and thus to the head carried thereby, l secure on the screw 39 the pinion 41 meshing with a second pinion 42 which is mounted in a suitable j tions 47 registering withY the witness mark 43 on the bracket to denote the transverseadjust-nient of the parts. The advantage of so securing the dial is that the machine may be readily set up andfput at a predetermined measured. point and the dial then set to corpresent-resides in the fact that it is frequently desirable iii the cutting of lenses to cut them a mi limeter or incre larger in diameter than the finished edged lens. lilith this form of dial it is therefore possible for the operator to set the dial one millimeter off true reading, or whatever amount he may He can then jset the dial to read at desire. the graduation of size lie-wishes in thefinished lens and the machine will automatically t-ake care of the additionalsize it .is desi red to cut so as to leave proper'amount for edging, thus eliminating entirely the necessity of the operator remembering to calculate the proper over-size in each instance.

Referring to the cutter mechanism proper,

An additional advantage, here ice j the head 36 is provided with a forward eX- j tension or arm 49, in which is rotatably received the outer sleeve 50 bearing on its upper end the drive'gear 51, and having slidably but non-rotatably mounted therewithin a second sleeve 52 bearing the head. 53, on which are slidably but non-rotatably mounted a plurality of different shapes or formers 54. These formers are secured in position by the lock rodv 55 having -at its upper end the actuating handle portion 56 and on its lower end the locking plate 57 provided with the locking tongues 58 engaging the under side of the bottom-most former, but adapted on a quarter rotation of the rod to be brought intov alinement with the notches 59 of the formers so that the forn'iers may be readily slipped off the headin case it is desired to substitute a different former or Y setof formers for those ordinarily secured upon the head 53. Theslides 59 in the formers fit over the ribs60 of the Yhead 53 and are thus held against rotation relative to the head so that they will turn with the main supporting sleeve 50 as it is rotated by the gear 51. l j j An arm 61 is pivoted to the head 36 and is of yoke formation having swivelled between the arms of the yokethe cutter holder 62 bearing at its lower end the cutting point l() .in Vcutting octagonal or othersiinilar shapes,

3l `which extends just to theV of the i pivot 35, while intermediatejthe cutter carriefr 62. is provided with a contactl orabutvinent plate 63l` (see III) for selective V"engageinentwith Vone ot the ormers.

It will 'be noted'that this member is substantially convex in 'forni so as to provide prac- `ti'cally point contact with the edge' ot the former although 'having the very slight notch 64. This notch is particularly usei'ul inY that the pointor corner of the former .will catch in thenotcli, twisting themeinber`62- about on its pifvotso that the cutter' 'will immediately follow the new jl'ine of travel,` insuring proper angular cuts, something hitherto diii'ieult itnot impossible of vaccomplishment with prior art constructions.

To aidv in this tracking action there is mounted upon the contact 63 the slide 65 This direction of the former as by the springs 67 which gave a light pressure yielding so that.

the Contact niayfat all times be held against the former but so that the jaws will-also contact therewith tocontrol the swinging orV tracking movement of the cutting point. The actual ressure of the contact against 4the former is securedlby a suitable spring actuating the arm 61, in the present embodiment this spring being mounted within l Y thecasing 68, one end being suitably operatively connected with the cutter arm' and'V y i the Yvarious parts, while as the lens and the other 'with the stationary traine.

vr'In operation the head is tilted tothe requifsite angle for the lens surface. to be cut, as determined by the graduations 69. The cutter ai-in is then held outward by rocking of the bell crank arm 70 carried by the arm 61 and contacting with the side ot' the portion 49 of the head; The knurled sleeve 71 is then grasped and rotated, `this sleeve beniounted tor rot-ation on the gear 51,

but `against vertical movement with es `sect b thereto. A spring latch 12 serves to stop rthenieinber'71 at variousv selected points ot" rotation. The member 71 is internally threaded to engage the adjustment block f to Y' sleeve 52.

alineinent with the contact shoe.

dicated in Figure III of the drawings. It.

will thus be seen that in the torni illustrated tour entirely different shapes may be cut or reproduced on the lens without variancel or the machine'other than the adjustment just referred to, while'any size of this particular shape may be cutby `transverse adjustmentjof the slide 34 through rotation of the v'head-40 and screw 39.V Additional shapes, itis to vbe` understood, may be cut by unlocking the member .i7 Vand substituting a di'erent former or formers for Vthe fori-ners 54 shown on the machine.

V.It .will be understood that in the cutting operation it is necessary to relatively shitt-r or move the cutting point and the lens, and lin the present instance I prefer to shift' the lens, the cutting point beingv held station-ary,

except'in soiai' as lateralinloveineiit is imparted to it by swinging oi' the cutter arm occasioned by movementoi' the former.

rio-accon'iplish this rotative movemeiitfthere is on the head 36 the bracket 74 in which is journaled the shaft v bearing the bevel gea-r 76 in mesh with a second gear '77 secured on thelower side of the main gear 51 which is Vin mesh with the pinion 83 con-y nected by a shaft 84 with a second pinion( 78 meshing with the gear teeth 79 on the table 5, rsothat the upper gear '5l with former land associate parts will be operated synchronously with the table bearing the lens. A telescope connection as at 8O and universal joint or joints 81 in the shatt184 take care of' the increase and decreasein lengthot the shaft due to the tilting ino'vement' of the head, and prevent variation of thev 'parts on accountyoi said tilting move-A 1; L A1 ment. A handle 82 serves to rotate tne shaft-75` and 4thus transmit movement Vto formers are rotated the cutter arm and cut-v tingpoint will. be swung in and out to reproduce the necessary shape upon the leus.

In Figure V I have illustrated a. slightly modified form of former engaging memher which includes the supporting arin 85 carrying a` head portion 86 supported thereby which carries the diamond holder 87.

gMounted Vupon the head portion'86 andv connected together byV means ota suitable.

pivot pin. rIhe outer endsof these arms 88 are provided with curved portions 90 and at the extreme outer ends thereof are the lrollers 91 which contact with the former and in order to retain these rollers 91 in directv contact with the former at all times I place between the inner ends ot the arms 88 a coil spring 92 which tends tomove the inner ends of the arms 88 away Vfrom each other vthus retaining the rollers 91 into cont-actvwith the llO former: so that the diamond cutter v847 will be held against the glass being cut and as the arms 88 are pivoted and spring held' for pivotal movement they will readily ride vover the former whereby to guide the cutter in an eiiicient manner.

I' claim: I f

l. In a machine of the character described, a base, a lens support on the base, a critter member having a cutter adapted to cut a lens supported on thev lens support, a lens former support, a former comprising a plurality of exact lens shapes ot' lenses to be cut rotatably carried by the former support, a former contact member on the cutter member contacting with a selected lens shape, means for kmoving the 'former support to bring the selected lens shape into engagement with the Contact member, and means for rotating said lens support and former in synchronism, whereby the cutter will cut the lens on the support to the same configuration as thelens shape iii contactwitli the contact member.

2. ln a machine of the character described,

a cutter member' having a cutter, a contactV member on the cutter member, a lens former support, a former comprising a plurality oit eXactlens shapes of lenses to be cut rotatably carried by the former support, means for yieldingly holding the contact member against a selected lens shape, and means for moving the toi-mer to bring the selected lens shape into engagement with the contact member.

3. In a machine of the character described, a slide, a cutter member having a cutter pivoted on the slide, a contact member on the cutter member, a lens former support, a plurality of exact lens shapes to be cut longitudinally arranged on the former support, means for yieldingly holding the contact member against the lens shapes, and means for .moving the lens shapes longitudinally topresent the selected lens shape to contactwith the contact member. v

il. A lens cutter including a base and a support slidably mounted on the base, said support including a lens supporting portion Y and means for clamping a lens thereon, the

said clamping means being movable with the lens supporting portion, means or varying the normal position orp the lens supporting and the lens clamping portions relative to said base, cam mechanism for controlling the action of the clamping portion, a slide carried by the base, and movable transversely the support and swinging it out of Yline therewith, a second movable support,`a cutter head pivoted on the second support, a lens cutter on the pivoted critter head, and means to position the pivoted cutter head at the required cutting angle of the cutter with respect to theA lens being cnt and a common base for said supports. Y Y

6. lna machine of the character described, a slide, a swinging cutter arm having a i'ormei contactpivoted on the slide, a shitt-V able toimer member engaging the former contact and having a plurality of former shapes each of eXact shape as a lens to be cut, means for moving the shift-able former member to selectively present the desired former shape or' the lens to be cut to the cutter arm contact and means to ,movev the slide to position the cutter arm to regulate the sizeof the lens to be cut to the former shape engaging the former contact. Y

7. in a machine of the character described, a slide, a cutter member 'pivoted on the'slide and having a cutter, a former arbor, a plurality ot' separate former shapes adapted to slip on and oli of the arbor means detachably holding said shapes on the arbor, a`

Contact on the cutter member adapted to engage each of the formers, one at a time, and means for moving the former sha-pes longitudinally of the arbor to engage the selected former shape with the contact. Y

ALBERT E. MAYNARD. 

